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Certain Uncertainty

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By Dan Amos

We’re closing in on three decades since we moved to Puyallup for my assignment at McChord Air Force Base. My job as an Air Force officer was to lead a team that provided support and the information necessary for the aircrews flying the big transport jets to do their jobs and safely return home. Safety has always been the mantra; active airfields are strictly controlled, and no one moves about freely. So, I was shocked by the images of a C-17 driving through the crowd at the Kabul airport with men clinging to the body of the aircraft. It was chaos and there was no control. Some of those men refused to let go and held on until they fell to their deaths. I never imagined that scenario. Never. But that is only one of several things I’ve seen in the last year that continually cause me to ponder the uncertainty of tomorrow and what I can trust.

A couple of weeks ago I went into a store intending to buy a bag of shredded lettuce. I walked into the large refrigerator section that is lined with shelves and usually has pallets of produce in the center. It was nearly empty. Many of the shelves throughout the store were empty. Last year, we all probably experienced the lack of availability of toilet paper, cleaning products, and sanitizer. I saw my retirement fund plummet. I was fortunate to continue working but have done so from home. These are new experiences in my American life, not new to many or even most in this world, but new to me here on South Hill.

At the end of May, we took a drive up to Paradise on Mt Rainier. We hadn’t been to the park in years. The snow was still deeper than our car and it was falling so much that we didn’t get out because we weren’t prepared for it. Again, I was shocked when I saw our beautiful mountain recently and it was brown and rocky, more exposed than I’ve ever seen it.

Every generation must have their “shocking” moments. I grew up with the threat of nuclear annihilation and imagined how that would bring about the end of the world. I can’t say I’m prepared to physically respond to the unknown. Everything in this world is temporary and I don’t know what tomorrow will bring.

Many of you have heard me talk of this before, but going into my second round of unemployment, I did not know if I would find a job. I didn’t know if I would keep the house or feed my family, but I was absolutely certain that God would see us through to the completion of His perfect will.

He has told us of His provision for us in the lives of Moses, the three men in the fiery furnace, Daniel in the lions’ den, Ruth and Naomi, and hundreds more. We like those stories because they survived and thrived, but even Stephen as he was being crushed by stones from the mob was not abandoned by God, but was together with Him then and forever.

These are not just stories. They are foundational to who we are. Ryan asked at our last elder meeting what each of us envisioned for Elim. I answered that I long to see Elim be a place of a people set apart from the world. A place of ordinary people empowered by an extraordinary God, those who have the answer for the uncertainty and trials this fallen world brings. Our God has never not been in control. Sin has marred His creation, but through Jesus we have the answer to the ultimate victory over all tribulations. People are scared and angry and frustrated by COVID and life. We must be different. We must live into the promise of Jesus. That is how we are an oasis, a light on a hill. We are a gathering of diverse believers with the common faith in the One who is in control. That is the answer for those who are scared and unsure.

Sunday, we sang “Morning by Morning” by Pat Barrett:

All fear be reminded

My future is secure

My Father has spoken

And He keeps His every word

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The “Unknown God” Revealed

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By Geneva Mooney

Sometime in 2003, I accepted Jesus into my life, but my heart was not following Him yet. I was broken and I still am. I first needed to invite Him into my journey of life, then I had to learn to walk with Him, as we all do. It was a journey through the desert, a journey to fight, a journey to trust, and a journey to love as He first loved us. This is a journey with Him by my side, no matter how dark or joyous.

Like many others, this journey is redemptive and continues to be. As I walk more closely with my Father, I’ve learned to love Him and desire to do what is right through His Word and Holy Spirit (“If you love me, you will obey me” [John 14:15, NIV]). But it has not always been that way, because I loved myself and my emotions more. We can be conformed to this world, the thinking of this world and the judgments of this world, and not even know it.

In 2003, I also made a decision out of fear—fear of being judged by my parents and judged by Christians. At the time I was conformed to this world, but now as I walk with my Creator I am continuing to be transformed by the renewing of my mind (“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind” [Romans 12:2a]; “We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought and make it obedient to Christ” [2 Corinthians 10:5]). Today, through repentance and obedience, my Father has made me whole again.

In that moment of fear and brokenness, 18 years ago, when Jean and I were not yet married but living together, I chose to have an abortion. My healing journey then began several years ago when I chose to be open and honest with my parents and ask for their forgiveness. I then had to go to my Heavenly Father and ask Him for forgiveness, as I had judged my parents and did not honor them at the time of my decision because in my childhood, I decided in my heart that they were unsafe and not worth honoring. I also needed to ask my Heavenly Father to forgive me for sacrificing my own child out of fear, judgment, and shame.

I then forgave Christians (my fellow brothers and sisters) and asked my Father to forgive me for harboring judgments against them for being unsafe and not loving me where I was at, a sinner. I had to dismantle the lies, judgments, and vows that were seared into my heart and mind. This journey of sin in my heart and mind has taken years to build and years to dismantle, because it was only several weeks ago that I realized I had judged Christians 18 years ago.

We can’t overcome anything until we know Jesus. And until we know Jesus, we will create “unknown gods” to fill His void. That unknown god for me at the time was fear, judgment, and shame. I have had many other unknown gods that have needed to be dismantled and destroyed with the help of my wonderful, loving Father, through His Word and the Holy Spirit. I know I will yet have other unknown gods that will need to be dismantled as He directs me and guides me, but I can sit on my Father’s lap and soak up His love for me, and I do not have to do anything to deserve it. I just need to climb on His lap in truth, trust, and love for Him and His life for me.

While most of our unknown gods are actually false gods or idols, Scripture tells us about one unknown god who revealed truth and love and beauty to those who sought him. In Acts 17, Paul noted that amid all their detestable idols and false gods, the Athenians had set up an altar with the inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. In verse 23, Paul told the Athenians, “What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you.” Then he began to teach them about Jesus and His Father! As the unknown god became known to these Athenians, they began to abandon and dismantle their idols and false gods.

Any idol or unknown god will always require a sacrifice. Our Father in Heaven only asks us to be living sacrifices (“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship” [Romans 12:1]). I believe through the sin in our hearts we build altars to unknown gods that block our view of our Father’s loving lap. When we are willing to take our sins to Jesus‘s feet on the cross and lay them there, we can be forgiven. God becomes known, and unknown gods can be torn down.

What is taking the place of our Father? What lies are we believing, or vows or judgments are we harboring that keep us from loving well and from sitting on our Father’s lap and soaking up His perfect love for us? What unknown gods are blocking you from seeing and experiencing the love of our FATHER, the one true God, and His Son Jesus Christ?

If you’ve had an abortion, you are pregnant and scared, or if this topic upsets you, know that the emotions are real, and you don’t have to navigate this journey alone. Jesus is right there with you—and I would be delighted to walk along your side, as well.

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Love Over Fear

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by Cindy Waple

I recently saw a church sign that read: With social distancing, practice love over fear, peace over panic. As Tina Turner famously asked, “What’s love got to do with it?” How can love help with fear and anxiety, especially fear associated with Covid-19?

According to the Bible, love has everything to do with all that is happening, before, during, and after Covid-19. Here are just a few reasons why I believe and cling to this truth.

First, God is love (1 John 4:8,16). God is the source of all unconditional love. Human conditional love is often earned and can be taken away. God loves each and every one of us not because we deserve it, but because it is who He is. There is nothing you or I can do to make God love us more, and there is nothing we can do to lose God’s love. It was because of His great love for us that God sent his Son to die (John 3:16, Romans 5:8, 1 John 4:10). Our human minds cannot even begin to fathom the depth of love God has for each of us! And in His grace and mercy, God has filled our hearts with His love by the Holy Spirit (Romans 5:5).

Second, there are two key transitional moments in the Bible where love is set as a primary imperative. In the book of Deuteronomy, Israel is about to enter the Promised Land, and leadership is changing from Moses to Joshua. Moses offers a farewell address to Israel exhorting them as they move forward to remember the commands and laws of God. He begins with the most important: Israel is to remember that God is one, He is the Lord. And next they are to love Him with all of their heart, soul and strength (Deuteronomy 6:4-6). My simple translation is this: If you remember nothing else, remember this: God is One, and love Him with all of your being!

Now, fast forward over a thousand years, and another key transition is about to take place. Jesus is observing Passover with His disciples. In a few hours He will be arrested and sent to the cross to die. As He finishes the Passover meal, and after Judas has left to betray Him, Jesus gives His disciples a new command: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another (John 13:34-35).

Love is always important to God, and to Jesus, and forms the two greatest commands (Matthew 22:36-40). Love is essential during great transitions, such as we are in at Elim; and especially now in a world with Covid-19. The question we must ask ourselves is: Do I seek to live my life, first and foremost, from a place of unconditional love?

Lastly, we are reminded in 1 John 4:18 that “perfect love expels all fear.” And one of my favorite verses about love and fear reminds us that “with his [God’s] love, he will calm all your fears” (Zephaniah 3:17, NLT). Love wins over fear. Why? I don’t know all of the reasons, but I do know that 2 Timothy 1:7 reminds us that God has not given us a spirit of fear.  But God has given us love.

I would prefer to focus on and live out what God has given me. Fear paralyzes, love frees. We don’t know what will happen tomorrow or the next week or month in this season of Covid-19, but I do know that no matter what happens, nothing will ever separate me from the unfailing, immeasurable love of God (Romans 8:35-39). Here is a beautiful truth about God’s love — He lavishes His love upon us. He fills us with His love, pushing out fear, anxiety and worry. And then we become the conduit of His love toward others, freely sharing what God has graciously given to us.

That is perhaps the greatest gift the Church has to offer the world during this pandemic — unconditional love that conquers fear! I do understand that during these uncertain times fear is a normal response. May we be encouraged, when fear does start to enter our minds, to hit the pause button and turn our attention to God’s love. Meditate on the love scriptures mentioned here, or others that bring you comfort. Let His great love for you and your love for Him flood your heart and soul. And in doing so, we will experience love over fear, and peace over panic.

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Identity

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By Brian Sharpe

Fear can be debilitating. I hate failing. Sometimes I would rather not try than fail. This fear of failure is ultimately rooted in a proper placement of identity. As believers, we are given a new identity. We learn in 1 Peter 2:10 that we went from people with no identity to a people who have an identity in Christ. Our identity as believers is different from other people’s identity. For those who do not follow God, their identity has been placed in what they do. As believer, our identity must be in what God says about us.

As a kid, I just wanted to be liked. In junior high, I was the class clown, because it was a way my peers would respond to me. I remember one time I received a box of hand-me-downs from someone in our church. I wore them to school the next day, and people commented on how good I looked. I remember feeling accepted by my peers. From that point forward, I always wanted to dress nice. In fact, when I went into high school and got a job, I spent a lot of money on clothes that I thought would make me look and feel good about myself. My identity was wrapped up in what others thought of me.

As humans, our identity can be wrapped up in many things. It could be how much money we make or the job title we have in front of our name. It could be the friends we have or our family. Our identity could be wrapped in how good of a musician we are or how great a fan we are of our favorite team (Go Bills!). Our identity could be wrapped in so many things that when things aren’t going the way they should, we are led to debilitating fear.

Instead of having our identity wrapped in what other people think of us, our identity needs to be wrapped up in what God says about us. What does God say about us?

Who I Am in Christ

(originally compiled by Neil Anderson)

I Am Accepted

John 1:12 – I am God’s child.

John 15:15 – As a disciple, I am a friend of Jesus Christ.

Romans 5:1 – I have been justified (declared righteous).

1 Corinthians 6:17 – I am united with the Lord, and I am one with Him in spirit.

1 Corinthians 6:19–20 – I have been bought with a price and I belong to God.

1 Corinthians 12:27 – I am a member of Christ’s body.

Ephesians 1:3–8 – I have been chosen by God and adopted as His child.

Colossians 1:13–14 – I have been redeemed and forgiven of all my sins.

Colossians 2:9–10 – I am complete in Christ.

Hebrews 4:14–16 – I have direct access to the throne of grace through Jesus Christ.

I Am Secure

Romans 8:1–2 – I am free from condemnation.

Romans 8:28 – I am assured that God works for my good in all circumstances.

Romans 8:31–39 – I am free from any condemnation brought against me and I cannot be

separated from the love of God.

2 Corinthians 1:21–22 – I have been established, anointed, and sealed by God.

Colossians 3:1–4 – I am hidden with Christ in God.

Philippians 1:6 – I am confident that God will complete the good work He started in me.

Philippians 3:20 – I am a citizen of heaven.

2 Timothy 1:7 – I have been given a spirit not of fear but of power, love, and a sound mind.

1 John 5:18 – I am born of God and the evil one cannot touch me.

I Am Significant

John 15:5 – I am a branch of Jesus Christ, the true vine, and a channel of His life.

John 15:16 – I have been chosen and appointed to bear fruit.

1 Corinthians 3:16 – I am God’s temple.

2 Corinthians 5:17–21 – I am a minister of reconciliation for God.

Ephesians 2:6 – I am seated with Jesus Christ in the heavenly realm.

Ephesians 2:10 – I am God’s workmanship.

Ephesians 3:12 – I may approach God with freedom and confidence.

Philippians 4:13 – I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me.

As believers, we need to focus on what we know to be true about ourselves based on what God says. We do not need to be bound by our past sins and failures. Our family-of-origin issues can be overcome because of who Christ is and what He has done for us. We need to trust God with our identity and our life and surrender our life to Him. We do not have to live in fear, because perfect love casts out all fear (1 John 4:18)!

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Grasshopper

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By Brian Sharpe

Personal care is something we all need to work on, but I am not sure we always understand what that means. I know when I am living in my head, it usually doesn’t end well. I didn’t understand why until this past week. Tomina and I were sitting in some teaching sessions while at our district’s pastors and wives retreat. The speaker was Dr. Gary Oliver, and he was talking about fear and anxiety during one of the sessions. He gave us four easy steps to worry. First, observe a situation. Then, interpret the situation. The next step is to exaggerate the situation. The fourth is grasshopper.

He used the example of the spies going from the desert to Canaan. God had told them in Numbers 13 to go to the land that “He would give them.” The spies didn’t trust what God said. They went into the land, observed the people, and then exaggerated the situation and told everyone that there is no way they could go into the land God that God promised them because the people would devour them. They said they were like grasshoppers compared to the people in the promised land, which led them to worry and not trust what God told them.

I see this happening so often in my life. I won’t ask questions about something because I believe I already know the answer. I will assume the worst because I have observed the situation, interpreted it, exaggerated it—and then grasshopper. When we go down this path of worry, it tears us up inside. It hinders our ability to have relationships with others and leads us to loneliness. How I—and ultimately all of us—can combat this is by doing the following:

  • Giving people the benefit of the doubt
  • Not assuming the outcome
  • Having conversation where there are hurts
  • Trusting what we know to be true from the Word of God

When I do these things, worry will melt away and freedom comes. It is when I am not willing to deal with the exaggerations in my life that I am in bondage to circumstances. God has given us freedom through the work of Christ on the cross. He has given us the truth we can live by in the Word of God. One of those truths is that we need to live in unity with one another. Philippians 2:1-4 says,

Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.

Let’s choose to deal with the grasshopper effect by dealing with the exaggeration that comes in our minds while going through life. We need to choose to give people the benefit of the doubt, not assuming we know the outcomes, dealing with hurts between us and others, trusting what we know to be true about God from Scripture. If we do this, we can limit the effect worry has on our lives as well as build up our community of faith and, ultimately, our faith in the Lord. Let’s pursue emotional and relational health together. Grasshopper.

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What If …

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By Martin Schlomer

This morning, the wind was knocked out of me! Not literally, but it felt like it. I found an unread email sent to me a few weeks ago with a comment regarding my sermon on worry from Matthew 6:19-34. It read:

When my heart was hardened against God, it was believers at peace despite real troubles that began to crack the shell of my heart and make me say, “This is real, God is real.” And when my mother’s heart was hardened, it was believers proclaiming Christ but consumed with worry that made her say, “Their God is not real, they have no confidence in Him.” We are always witnessing, for better or worse.

The outcomes for others of how we handle worry can be hopeful or sobering!

For whatever reason, this fall, I’ve had several short seasons during which worry has crept into my heart. They have revealed chinks in my faith, places where I have felt alone, exposed, unprotected, and vulnerable to failure. Why would I feel this way? Looking at the circumstances of my life, things are good, solid, seemingly secure.

In these seasons, worry didn’t just walk in full force. Worry crept in one little “what if” thought at a time. These “what if” thoughts are less threatening and easier to entertain when they are welcomed one at a time. They present themselves in a much less threatening manner. However, when one is entertained for any length of time, the word gets out! Soon, I’m entertaining an entire squad of “what if” thoughts, and they can overtake my mind and my heart. It’s as if I have no confidence in my Father. It’s as if He isn’t real. The sad thing is, these thoughts take over without needing to fire a single shot. Game over! I’m a prisoner in the penitentiary of worry and fear. Thoughts of shame are like prison guards shouting at me, “I’m not enough!” “I’m a failure!” “I’ll never succeed!” “Don’t let anyone know!” Do these sound familiar? Are there any you might add?

“What if” thoughts are dangerous! They’re like ticks. When there is only one or two, they’re a nuisance — bothersome, but simple to deal with. But when there are a lot of them, they will suck a lot of blood and transmit a lot of fear. They can take us down some very dark rabbit holes.

How do we deal with “what if” thoughts? For myself, I must deal with them one at a time as they enter my mind. I lean into the reality that I have a Father who cares deeply for my well-being. He reminds me that I am not an orphan responsible to conquer life on my own. But I don’t lean into my Father alone. I invite others to share this journey with me. People walking with Jesus give me courage! Exposing and praying through worry with others — and the shame that often accompanies it — is freeing. While worry and fear will always be a part of the rhythm of our lives through various seasons of our lives, we must battle together.

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